Author: Vincent Fong

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, announced a series of economic stimulus plans last week that is targetted at revitalising the economy which was weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 40 initiatives worth RM 35 Billion under this recovery plan that was dubbed as “PENJANA”. Under the same plan, the Malaysian government announced an allocation of RM 750 million that is aimed at driving the adoption of e-wallets in Malaysia. RM 50 will be credited into e-wallet accounts of approximately 15 million Malaysians. According to the Prime Minister’s speech, the RM 50 will also be matched with vouchers,…

Following a statement from Securities Commission Malaysia on Tuesday which warned investors that eToro is not a licensed or a registered entity that is permitted to carry out regulated activities in Malaysia, the regulator has added the digital trading platform to its “Investor Alert List” This clarification came after Fintech News Malaysia reached out to the regulator about eToro’s legality after it announced that 11% of its APAC customers are from Malaysia. SC reminds the public that Malaysian investors who deal with unlicensed entities such as eToro are not protected under Malaysian securities law and may not have legal recourse…

We’re living in a once in a generation health crisis. Millions of people worldwide have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and many have been left jobless and many more will be feeling the impact for several years to come. Now is the time for institutions and industries to be our heroes and help the societies that have been supporting them for so long. One of the oldest industries on the planet has one of the most important roles to play: keeping our citizens healthy. With a health crisis such as this one, the role of the insurer has never…

In a press statement announcing the extension of their commission-free stocks offering to clients in Asia-Pacific, eToro shared that 11% of their customers in Malaysia. In response to Fintech News Malaysia’s clarification of the eToro’s legality to operate in Malaysia, the platform said that investors in Asia are “regulated under eToro’s Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) license” and “therefore investors can trade through the ASIC license” To verify this we reached out to Securities Commission Malaysia, a spokesperson then replied with this official statement. “eToro is not licensed or registered by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to carry out any…

The cryptocurrency market sure has come a long way from its very tumultuous year of 2019 when the then Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced new regulations that meant crypto exchanges operating with prior approval from Securities Commission Malaysia may face RM 10 million in fine or face a ten-year jail sentence. The new regulation which kicks in a day after the announcement, triggered a rush of players seeking approval from the regulator, of the over 40 exchanges that were identified by the Securities Commission to be operating at that time, 22 applied and a year later we now have…

Securities Commission Malaysia announced today the liberalisation of equity crowdfunding (ECF) limit to RM 10 million from the previous limit of RM 5 Million. This was announced during their Annual Report media conference which was held virtually. This is in response to the growing popularity of alternative fundraising methods, especially among MSMEs. In 2019, alternative fundraising methods like equity crowdfunding and P2P financing saw a 127% growth to RM 400 million while fundraising through venture capital and private equity saw an 8% contraction to RM 600 million. To date, ECF and P2p financing have successfully helped 1943 SMEs raised over…

The deadline for much anticipated virtual banking framework has been extended to 30th June 2020, it is said that this extension is due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This follows their previous extension from February to April after the central bank issued an updated version of the virtual banking framework draft. The framework was initially expected to be complete and open for applications in mid-2020, however, given the circumstances it unclear whether the central bank is still looking at the same timeline. Malaysia’s virtual banking framework has attracted a number of potential applicants including the likes Axiata, Razer,…

MYTHEO a robo-advisor regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia issued a statement assuring investors their business remains capable of serving customers and that they have sound business continuity practices in place. The robo-advisor further added that their processes are highly digitalised from front, middle to back offices and they do not anticipate service disruptions. He advises investors to not feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, instead, he urges investors to look at this as a good opportunity for them to get their investment strategy in check. Ronnie said in his statement, “Start by setting aside your required emergency funds. Then,…

Fintech Association of Malaysia issued a statement urging the Malaysian government to help fintech startups survive the MCO and ride-out the COVID-19 pandemic. The association which represents over 200 fintech firms operating in Malaysia likened the industry as the “B40 of the business community” citing that because it is new, not well-understood that it inadvertently slip through the cracks of conventional process by various government agencies and private institutions. Emphasizing fintech’s role for the underserved and bringing the old economy with digital capabilities the industry group said it is vital for the government to provide aid otherwise many of these…

COVID-19 has no doubt proven to be one of the greatest adversity that our nation has faced in recent times. It is during these difficult times that it becomes more important for us to unite and do our part to help our fellow Malaysians to cope with this crisis. How a company treats its employees, partners, and stakeholders will define a brand once we emerge out of this and we’ve recently seen a number of examples of companies from the tech ecosystem playing their role in this crisis. Axiata, for example, announced the launch of a RM 150 Milllion fund…

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a strain, not just on our healthcare systems, but also on the global economy as well. Besides being concerned about the wellbeing of fellow humans, businesses are also growing increasingly concerned about surviving these extremely challenging times. In light of this, the Fintech News Malaysia team, together with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), came together to organiser a webinar to discuss and explore how fintech startups can navigate these troubled waters. We were joined by Dato’ Wan Peng, COO, MDEC; Wong Wai Ken, Country Manager, Stashaway; Siew Yuen Tuck, Co-Founder of Jirnexu;…

Early this year, the business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), TM ONE announced a collaboration with Korean-based blockchain firm, FNS Value Co. Limited (FSNV). The agreement between the two parties will position TM ONE as the sole distributor for its FNSV Blockchain Secure Authentication (BSA) in Malaysia and Indonesia. According to FNSV, BSA is the world’s first patented solution based on blockchain technology that does not require a password for authentication and yet is very simple to use, extremely secure, and impenetrable immutable application. News of major corporations like TM ONE aggressively pushing for blockchain solutions here in…

Hong Kong-based AMTD revealed in an interview that they are seeking a digital banking license in Malaysia. AMTD is an independent investment banking firm established by the CK Hutchison Group who was, in turn, was founded by Hong Kong’s business magnate Li Ka-Shing. AMTD is also among the 8 licensees that were granted approval by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to operate a virtual bank. The group is also currently bidding for a license in Singapore alongside Xiaomi, SP Group and Funding Societies. It was not made clear if AMTD is also currently in talks with Funding Societies in Malaysia…

Following the first exposure draft for the regulatory framework for virtual banks in Malaysia published in December 2019, Bank Negara Malaysia today published an updated draft. The regulator said in a media statement that the updated drafted incorporated proposed “simplified regulatory framework for digital banks applicable during the foundational phase” to “reduce regulatory burden for new entrants that have strong value propositions, whilst safeguarding the integrity and stability of the financial system” The draft framework remains largely the same but with some changes to the capital adequacy requirements and liquidity requirements. Further details on the updated draft can be found…

pitchIN revealed today in its annual Equity Crowdfunding Report that the company continues to lead the equity crowdfunding market for the third consecutive year with 72% market share of total funds raised and 53.8% of campaigns in 2019. 2019 proved to be a positive year for the platform as they see 67% YOY (Year-on-Year) growth with RM 22.7 Million raised. They also highlighted several milestones which include breaking the record of the highest funds raised with Oxwhite raising over RM 5 million in 7 days. Sam Shafie, its CEO and Co-founder remarked that the growing number of companies raising funds…

Axiata revealed at its group financial briefing results that it is currently in talks with 11 parties to bid for Malaysia’s virtual banking license. Malaysia is looking to issue up 5 licenses for virtual banks as outlined in the recently published draft framework. Its newly appointed deputy chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Izzaddin Idris, expects to establish a virtual bank by the second half of 2021 if they among the five to receive a virtual banking license. The group is no stranger to digital financial services, under its subsidiary Axiata Digital, they operate the popular e-wallet brand Boost and also…

Fresh into the year, Razer announced that they will enter Singapore’s digital banking race. In their announcement, there was a curious statement which piqued my attention, Razer said that it is aiming to be the “world’s first global youth bank”. As you can imagine, with a bold proclamation as such, I could hardly resist examining what they meant and what their plans are for this “Global Youth Bank” Razer Fintech’s CEO, Lee Li Meng and CTO, Eduard Fabian was kind enough to indulge me and sat down with us to give a window into what their global digital banking ambitions…

There were multiple reports this week that claims KiplePay, a subsidiary of GreenPacket “has become the first fintech player in Malaysia to provide a white-labelled e-wallet solution with Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) approval.” While I have no doubt that they have received clearance from Bank Negara Malaysia to provide white label e-wallet solutions to the likes of Setel, I’m doubtful that they are the first. Claiming you’re the first in something is not something uncommon, and most of the time it’s harmless, which is why we would normally just remove the word “first” when we run the story. However, in…

In Malaysia, e-wallets are all the rage these days. The Malaysian public’s interest with e-wallets was further accelerated when the government set aside RM 450 Million for the e-Tunai programme, which grants qualifying Malaysians RM 30 in selected e-wallets. With the constant bombardment of promotions and ubiquity of e-wallet acceptance points especially in urban centers, one might easily think that e-wallets have been around for a long time in Malaysia. E-wallets in Malaysia are a relatively recent phenomenon, most players including the three big names like Boost, TNG Digital, and GrabPay all received their licenses as recent as 2017. The…

In this past couple of days, the e-Tunai programme seems to be all everyone is talking about and understandably so — free money tends to have that effect on people. In case you’re unfamiliar with the Malaysian scene or if you’ve been living under a rock for the entire month of January, the e-Tunai programme is a RM 30 incentive offered to Malaysians above the age of 18 earning less than RM 100,000. The programme was first announced during the Budget 2020, as a means to boost e-wallet adoption. The government has set aside a budget RM 450 Million for…